CV Tips

Recruitment Advice

A CV is usually your first impression, so you want to get it right. Think of it as a marketing brochure of yourself. You’ll need it for almost any job application; it’s considered essential information to give to an employer so they can assess whether you’re suitable for a role and if they want to invite you to a job interview.

A strong CV will:

  • Stand out from the crowd
  • Grab the attention of employers and recruiters
  • Showcase your relevant skills, experience, accomplishments and potential
  • Show how you’re a match for a position or project
  • And most importantly, gets you closer to gaining a job interview!

Remember:

  • Everyone has potential
  • Everyone has more skills than they think they do
  • Everyone can write a good CV
Top Tips from a recruiter
  • Invest time in creating your CV – this is not a document you can create quickly, dedicate your time to master it
  • Aim for 2-3 pages max – you will lose your recruiters and hiring managers’ interest if your CV is longer. Sometimes less is more. Also, we recommend saving it in a PDF format just so the format does not get skewed when you email it or upload it to job sites.
  • Space and bullet points are your friends – recruiters skim read so please utilise space and bullet points where possible.
  • Choose a nice font – hard to read fonts are distracting, and while it may be tempting to dress up your CV with fancy fonts and graphics, it’s much more compelling to have a clean and fuss-free design and layout.
  • Use the right tense (i.e. not first person or third person but rather active).
  • Remove long sentences – be concise and punchy and remove any abbreviations and slang.
  • Check your spelling – spelling mistakes will see you lose credibility. Triple check your CV and do have a peer or friend review it as a second set of eyes.
  • Honesty is the best policy – people are often tempted to exaggerate their experience and skillset but our recommendation is to be authentic and honest. Being caught on a lie will harm your chances of being offered the job.
  • Don’t leave gaps in your employment – recruiters like to be able to review dates on your CV (both month and year). If for example, you had a year off to travel the world or if you were on maternity leave, explain that. A few months off between jobs does not need to be explained, but a longer stint will pose questions.